Long Term Impact 

Although the WASPs did not initially get the recognition they deserved, their work was not in vain, and broke barriers for the women that followed.

In 1974, women Army and Navy pilots received their wings.

In 1976, women were admitted to the US Air Force Academy.

"It's the greatest story of all to see young people who graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy because of what we did in 1942."

~ Jeannette Goodrum, WASP Class 43-W-8 (Carol Bowers, "Women Pilots of World War II Inspired Generations.")

In 1991, Congress authorized women to fly in combat.

And in 1995, 52 years after the WASP program formed, women flew combat missions for the US Air Force.

It was a long fight to fly, but thanks to WASPs, women now serve proudly alongside men in the sky.

In 2009 the WASPs were awarded the Congressional Gold Medal; only 300 remained to receive the honor.  Their legacy survives, however, in the women they inspired.  

“What we did has carried over in the fact that there are women military pilots today.  Also because there are women airline pilots and women astronauts. We had to prove we could do the job not only for ourselves, but for every other woman that would eventually follow in our footsteps.”

~ Lorraine Zillner Rodgers, WASP Class 44-W-2 (Airport Journal, "Lorraine Zillner Rodgers:  But All I Want to Do is Fly!")

"I spoke at a graduation ceremony for Navy pilots.  There were three girls in the graduating class I spoke to.  It meant a lot to them, they told me, to have a woman pilot give them their graduation talk."

~ Micky Tuttle Axton, WASP Class 43-W-7 (Vera Williams, WASPs:  Women Airforce Service Pilots of World War II.)

The WASPs broke barriers for women like Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and C/Capt. Katelyn Budzisz, US CAP.

Senator Duckworth served as an Army combat pilot.  She lost her legs when her helicopter was attacked but persevered and was elected to the United States Senate. WASPs opened the door for her to fly for her country.

This June C/Capt. Katelyn Budzisz will enter the US Air Force Academy as a member of the class of 2024.  She dreams of being a fighter pilot.  WASPs broke the barrier that would have prevented that dream.

Women continue to break barriers today because of the WASPs.

"[The WASPs] true legacy is much more vital, enduring and transformational than [the Congressional Gold Medal].  It is in the young women and men, from your peers and your own children to today's youngest generation that you have inspired with your patriotism...Because of the WASPs, there is a new generation of women fighter pilots, lifesavers and warriors who enjoy the absence of any conception that they can't do something because of a coincidence of birth."

~ Vice Admiral Vivien Crea, USCG (Ret.), Only woman Ancient Albatross of the Coast Guard (Carol Bowers, "Women Pilots of World War II Inspired Generations.")

"The WASP were, and still are, my role models." 

~ Col. Eileen Collins, First woman to command and pilot a US spacecraft (EAA Museum, "WASP:  Women Flyers of World War II.")

"These ladies have taught me ever so much.  They have reached out and touched me as a child, as a teenager, as a college student, as a young woman.  How many people do you think would pay their own way to go serve their country and fight for freedom? The WASP did it. And they serve as an example for all of us. They taught me that women can do anything they really want to do if it's the right thing to do, and you put your mind to it.  They have been a remarkable inspiration for so many of us." 

~ Janet Reno, First woman U.S. Attorney General ("Keynote Speech, The 50th Anniversary of the Women Airforce Service Pilots, Sweetwater, TX May 23, 1993.")

"The WASP service to our nation at a critical time in the history of the entire free world is not remarkable because they were women, but is remarkable in its own right. Their legacy to all military aviators, women and men alike is the knowledge that perseverance, commitment, and the desire to serve can overcome tremendous obstacles. I know I was able to be a woman fighter pilot and a woman Thunderbird pilot because of the WASP."

~ Lt. Col. Nicole Malachowski, USAF, First woman Thunderbird Demonstration Team pilot (TSgt. April Lapetoda, "WASP Exhibit Opens in Arlington.")

"I am proud to recognize the contribution the WASP made to World War II. They set the stage for today's women to fly and fight with their spirit and enthusiasm. These heroines heard the call and responded with the skills and dedication that gave out country the boost it needed to win World War II"

~ Sheila Widnall, Secretary of the Air Force, First woman to head a branch of the military (Wings Across America, "WASP on the Web.")

"It means a lot to me to see them recognized.  I got interested in flying because of my grandmother's experience."

~ Lt. Col. Christy Kayser-Cook, USAF, Pilot and granddaughter of WASP Brinton Selfridge, WASP Class 44-W-5 (Carol Bowers, "Women Pilots of World War II Inspired Generations.")

The barrier is broken, but the fight isn't over. 

There are 12,323 USAF pilots today.

 Only 806 are women.

"[Elected officials] have been systematically routing far more young men than young women into elite opportunities at the academies...The dramatic gender disparity in nomination rates means that members [of congress], including many who are deeply committed to gender equality, have failed to recruit and nominate exceptional young women to the academies."

~ Liam Brennan, Executive Director, Connecticut Veterans Legal Center (Yale Law School, "Report: Congress Nominates Far Fewer Women than Men to Military Service Academies.")

"• In every year since 1995, women have never exceeded 27% of the nominees of current Members of Congress to the service academies.
• Only one member of the House or Senate has nominated more women than men to the service academies.
• Out of the 436 current voting Members and Delegates of Congress analyzed here, 48 have female nomination rates of 15% or lower. 186 Members—more than 40% of current Members—have rates of 20% or lower."

~ Connecticut Veterans Legal Center.  "Gatekeepers to Opportunity:  Gender Disparities in Congressional Nominations to the Military Service Academies." July 26, 2019 

And the fight isn't easy.

"I don’t know a woman in the military who hasn’t been sexually harassed."

~ Ellen Haring, CEO, Service Women’s Action Network (Dianna Cahn, "Poll Asks Troops, Veterans Thoughts on Women in Combat, Mixed-Gender Training and More.")

68.5% -- Percent of women who serve or served in the military who said they had experienced discrimination based on gender.
65.8% -- Percent of women who serve or served in the military who said they had experienced sexual assault or harassment.

~ Poll results from anonymous Smithsonian, Stars and Stripes, and Schar School of Policy and Government at George Mason University survey, January 2019 (Dianna Cahn,  "Poll Asks Troops, Veterans Thoughts on Women in Combat, Mixed-Gender Training and More.")

But:

"We live in the wind and sand, and our eyes are on the stars."

~ WASP motto, inspired by Antoine de St. Exupéry's Wind, Sand, and Stars